Cheers! Increasing the Michigan beer tax appears to be a skunked idea

LANSING -- After a little panic and rather impressive mobilization from craft beer lovers and brewers, it looks like the Michigan beer tax is dead for now.

Insiders have said Gov. Jennifer Granholm has killed the idea of the tax, which was rumored to double the beer tax from 1.9 cents per 12-ounce bottle to 3.8 cents, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.

Granholm seems to favor taxing other forms of entertainment, namely tickets to sporting events and concerts (imagine Detroit Lions fans being forced to pay a tax on top of everything else) as an avenue to balancing the budget.

Hopefully, those who voiced their opinion so strongly will consider bottling that momentum to get the current tax lowered.